Blue Violets
by maskedinsilver
Summary: In which the line "Violets are blue" becomes true, at least to Magnus. An AU. Warning: Character death.


A/N: This was an assignment for my English class and well, I decided to share it. I just changed the names of the characters from my original ones to Alec's and Magnus'.

I hope this doesn't suck. :D

* * *

Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms. The Kingdom of Life, and the Kingdom of Death. In Death, the sun never shined. And in that kingdom, there was a man. He was lonely and often misunderstood. Unlike the other people in his kingdom, he longed to cross into the land of the living. He would spend most of his time at the border between the two kingdoms where the dark met the light. Once the sun set on the other side, he would wander about Death, admiring the only flowers that grew there – Violets, despite the varying shades of blue they were. These flowers glowed and they could only thrive in the dark, which is why there were no Violets in Life. He loved Violets because it was the only life that would not die at the touch death.

On the other side of the border lived Alexander. He was a common man, one of those who tend to the flowers in the kingdom of the living. During the day, he would sneak glances at the land across the border while he was out in the gardens that were situated rather close to the boundary. But at night, one would find him sitting by his window, staring out into the night. He longed to be out after the sun set, but it was dangerous because at night, the dead could cross the border. The law forbids the people of Life from leaving their homes after sunset in fear of meeting someone from Death, whose touch was lethal. But it never stopped him from wondering what it was like to be out at night.

Alexander woke up from a nap under his favorite tree, and his eyes met darkness.

_Oh, no! _was his first thought. _It's after sunset!_

Never having been out at night, he found the paths very difficult to navigate. Trees familiar to him in the light looked so different in the dark. At times, he thought that she recognized the way back only to find himself back where he had started.

_Idiot, idiot, idiot _became his mantra as he walked on. If he kept going, he would eventually end up somewhere familiar. At least he hoped he would.

A sudden change in temperature and an uneasy feeling in his gut halted him. He looked around warily, but saw nothing suspicious.

He walked on.

In the distance, he could see light; had he been out for so long that the sun was already rising? He continued toward what he thought was sunlight but as the trees thinned and he neared the source, he realized he was wrong.

It wasn't sunlight. It was flowers.

A large field of glowing flowers was before him. It seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions, the light illuminating the land beautifully. In all his years of exploring the land of Life and gardening, he had never come across this place or seen these flowers. What were they?

He bent down to get a closer look, but before he could, he heard a voice.

"You're looking at those like you've never seen any before."

He turned around to see a man. He was tall and rather thin, with tousled hair as dark as the night and caramel colored skin. When he registered the presence of life in the other, he was taken aback.

"What is someone from Life doing here?" he asked. "You're breaking the law."

"I… I'm aware of the law." Alexander looked embarrassed. "Also, I'm not very sure as to where _here _is so if you could enlighten me…?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "A little far from home, aren't you? You're in Death." He informed him.

That statement caused his eyes to widen. "_Death_?" He exclaimed in disbelief. "I'm in _Death_?"

"Yes. You've wandered quite a long way from the border."

"Do you know how to get to the border? I have to go back." Alexander knew he had to be wary of this man, but at the moment, he needed his help. He was relieved when he nodded.

"I do know how to get there," the stranger said, "but you'll have to wait until just before sunrise. Your people patrol the border from after midnight to dawn. You're lucky you weren't caught." He did another once-over of him with his eyes. "How did you get here anyway?"

He couldn't come up with a good excuse at the moment, so he decided to tell him the truth. "I fell asleep under a tree and woke up after sunset. Then I got lost."

"You don't seem very afraid of the night," he observed, "most of the people in Life are terrified of the dark."

"I am, actually." He told him. "But I've always been curious about the night. Of what it's like to be out and about in the moonlight." Why he was telling him this, he didn't know. It wasn't like he would understand. He _lived _in the night.

"It isn't very great. The only thing I like about night would be Violets."

"Violets?" he asked.

He gestured to the field of flowers. "Violets."

Now that the flowers were brought back to his attention, he went closer to them. "You said earlier that I was looking at the flowers like I'd never seen any before." He crouched down and inspected them like he had wanted to do earlier. "I haven't seen any quite like this."

"They're the only flowers that grow in Death - because they can't live in the sun." he told him. "They're the closest things to life I've ever seen. Violets are alive, but I can hold one without killing it."

"That's wonderful." He said, an awed look in her eyes. He plucked a flower and held it carefully in his hands. "They're very beautiful."

They conversed over the next few hours - about Life, about Death, and about flowers. Alexander hardly noticed the passage of time, but eventually, the other man told him it was time to go.

"The sun will rise soon." he said as he stood up from where he sat on the ground. "I'll take you back to the border."

They walked safe distance apart. The trip to the border seemed a lot shorter than it did alone. He stopped suddenly, and when he looked over their surroundings, he noticed that a few feet away, the forest was brighter, whereas it was still dark where they stood.

"Well," He cleared his throat and awkwardness permeated the earlier comfortable silence, "this is it."

For whatever reason, Alexander didn't want to go. But he had to. "Thank you. For taking me here. And for keeping me company earlier." He smiled at him. Their eyes met, and he _really _didn't want to say so, but "Goodbye." he said.

He turned and began to walk to the border, but the other called out,

"Wait!"

He looked back.

"Yes?"

"I…" He put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a Violet. He extended it toward Alexander, holding it by the very edge of the stem so he could take it from him safely. "here,"

He plucked it carefully from his outstretched hand. "But… won't this die once I cross the border?"

"It will. Slowly." he confirmed. "The wilting will stop at night and continue after sunrise; at most three days. Until it dies, I want you to have it. As a thank you for last night."

"Why are you thanking me? You're the one who helped me out," he asked, puzzled.

"Well…" he hesitated, "I guess you could say it's been a while since I had someone to talk to. So thank you."

Alexander watched him go back the way the came, staring at his retreating figure until he couldn't see it anymore.

For years Alexander had wondered what the night felt like. And now that he had gotten a taste of it, he knew she couldn't stay away. At that moment, he realized that he didn't care about what the law said; he had only lived in one night, and he already knew he loved it. The dark and how peaceful it was.

With a smile and plans of returning the following night, he crossed back into Life.

* * *

He returned to the field of flowers every night, and the man was always there when he did. Some nights they simply sat on the ground and talked about everything and nothing, and other nights they would stroll through the forest.

And before Alexander crossed over again, he would be given another Violet.

Two weeks after his nightly visits began, he told him his name.

"Alexander," he said just before he crossed the border.

"What?"

"My name is Alexander."

The following night, the man simply said "Magnus" and walked away.

* * *

Alexander didn't know when he began to question the way he told himself "I love the night" but then he thought of a caramel skinned man and knew why.

His eyes weren't simply green like he originally thought, but they were gold at a certain angle under the moonlight. His smile was a little crooked (not that he stared when he smiled) and he had only one dimple (not that he thought it was attractive). With every night visit, something changed about the way he saw him. Every night, he fell deeper.

He wasn't the only one. Sometimes, Magnus blurted out observations or compliments such as "your eyes are really blue" or "your smile is nice". His voice echoed in his head all day long until night fell and he could hear him speak for real.

They didn't care that they were two different people who should have been_ too_ different. Differences didn't have to matter, because wherever they were, be it at home alone, at work in the gardens, strolling through the woods, or laying together (but not touching) in the middle of a field of Violets, they knew only one thing.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

One night, Alexander didn't come. Magnus assumed that maybe something came up and he had to stay back. But he didn't show up the next night. Or the night after that.

Instead of waiting in the field, he waited by the border with a Violet in his hand, watching the sun rise and set.

Seven nights passed before he heard Alexander's voice. Or, at least he thought he did. It was so faint that he thought it might have been the wind.

"_Magnus,"_ the voice said.

He straightened, more alert now. "Alexander?" he called out.

His voice called his name over and over, and he strained to hear his response, attempting to follow the sound to its source.

By the border, leaning heavily against the bark of a tree was Alexander. His hair was a mess, his eyes bloodshot, and his skin was almost as pale as death. Fresh wounds and bruises littered his body.

"Alexander!" He came running to his side, and stopped himself a few feet away. What had happened to him?

As though he heard his question, he said, "I was caught crossing the border." His voice was hoarse and he winced as she spoke, as though it hurt. It probably did.

"Alexander, I—"

"They threw me in the dungeon. Then two days ago, they brought me out. They made me drink something. '_Slow as a Violet wilts in the day',_ they said."

"What—"

"Poison." he interrupted. "They gave me poison; the punishment for disobeying the higher laws. I only have today left."

Alexander paused to take a breather, panting heavily as though he just ran. He let herself drop to the ground in exhaustion. Magnus was frozen, words caught in his throat. What could he possibly say? He was dying, all because of him. Because he was coming to see him.

"I had to get out of there. I had to see you before… well. How I got out is too long of a story. There isn't much time." he kept pausing between words, his voice fading at times.

He had just about enough control over his body to crouch in front of him, coming as close as he dared.

"Magnus, I love you. No matter the differences, no matter how many worlds there are between us. I love you. No one can take that away from us. _ No one_."

His eyelids fluttered shut, but he forced them open again. Blue eyes focused on him. "Do you have a Violet?" He asked. Magnus nodded, and pulled one out of his pocket. He took it from him and purposely brushed the back of his hand against Magnus' before lacing the fingers of his other through his, immediately feeling how the contact was absorbing his life.

Magnus attempted to pull back. "Alexander, no-"

"I wanted to feel what it was like to hold someone." Alexander's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes strained to keep focus. "This is the slowest way."

Whether it was seconds, minutes, or hours, the two stayed like that. Fingers intertwined, a Violet glowing in Alexander's free hand. When Magnus felt the other's grip falter slightly, he looked over at him in concern.

"Alexander?"

He smiled before mustering the strength to speak.

"_Kiss me__,_" he said barely above a whisper.

Magnus held his face in his hands and leaned in to kiss him. For the first and last time. The flower Alexander held between them seemed to glow brighter and brighter the longer their lips moved against each other's. But the light wasn't blinding; it was beautiful. They pulled back and saw the way the light danced in the other's eyes. And right then and there, Magnus knew that no other moment in his life, past or future, could ever surpass this.

Alexander smiled his last, and blue eyes closed forever.

* * *

Every night, Magnus planted a Violet surrounding the tree where Alexander died. Death's side of the border glowed brighter and brighter as the days went. Rumors of glowing flowers circulated in the Kingdom of Life, and people would come to see the Violets that surrounded a tree. Some brave souls crossed over to take one and replant it in Life; and contrary to what was supposed to happen, the flower thrived. But it's glow faded. Eventually, an abundance of Violets grew in Life, but only the glowing kind grew in Death.

And now, whenever Magnus thought of a Violet, he thought of Alexander. No, his thoughts were not on the flower's scent or glow. It was its color. Every time he saw one, he'd remember the time he first saw Alexander and he would live through their time together all over again, his memory of him filled with the million shades of blue his eyes were.

Truly, Violets were blue. And to Magnus, they were the blue of Alexander's eyes.

* * *

A/N: Don't judge this soul too harshly ;_;

Well, I congratulate and thank you if you made it this far.

I hope you enjoyed reading? (cries)

Review if you want, click the tiny 'x' to close this window otherwise. :D


End file.
